Responsible pet ownership
Let me tell you about a couple friends I have named Gracie and Bill.
Gracie is a young girl around two years old. She's incredibly loving and likes to cuddle with you on the couch while you're watching TV. Gracie likes soaking up the sun's rays — that is, when she's not sprinting around the house, full of energy.
Bill's a little older, around 3 years old, and a chubby guy. He's more independent but still a talker — he'll chat up a storm if you give him the opportunity. And he's definitely an eater. If meals don't come like clockwork, he lets you know very vocally.
In case you haven't guessed by now, Gracie and Bill are both cats. They live an ideal existence in a comfortable house, with plenty of food and attention.
A year ago, their home was an animal shelter. A good shelter, with kind workers who cared.
But here's reality: If someone wouldn't have adopted Gracie and Bill, today they would most likely be dead. Euthanized. Killed.
That's because cats overrun our nation's animal shelters. If they're not adopted, eventually they will be euthanized simply because there's no room for them.
June is the ASPCA (American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals) Adopt-a-Cat month. And it's a good time to remind ourselves of the need to spay and neuter our pets, both cats and dogs.
Go to any shelter, and you'll see the dire situation. You'll see dozens of cats, mostly adults. At a regular shelter, a cat who isn't claimed by an owner or adopted within several days is killed. At a no-kill shelter, the cat may stick around for a few months, but eventually space runs out and workers are again forced to euthanize.
Where do all these cats come from? They're strays. They're pets that owners no longer wanted. But mostly they're from litters of kittens born to mothers who obviously weren't spayed.
The dog side of the shelter is usually packed too. Visit one and you'll probably see a large array of labrador retriever mixes — that's because those big dogs have big litters. And when a family can't take care of all the puppies, or when a litter is dumped in some field, many times they end up at the local shelter.
So the shelter's overcrowded — a sad situation. It's even sadder for the grown-up animals, because people are much more likely to adopt a cute kitten or darling puppy than an adult one.
What's the point of this column? There are several points, actually.
No. 1: If you want a pet, consider adopting a shelter animal. There are plenty of wonderful pets waiting for good homes. Big or small, hairy or hairless, hyperactive or laid-back — you're almost guaranteed to find a pet that suits your personality and preferences.
No. 2: If you already own pets, spay or neuter them. Don't give your dog or cat the chance to get pregnant and birth a huge litter that you won't know what to do with. Tiny kitties sure are cute when they're young, but every single one of them grows up to be an adult.
No. 3: Support shelters that are doing a great job. One local shelter, the Caring Hands Humane Society of Newton, is worthy of that support. It's a "no-kill" shelter, which means it keeps pets for as long as possible before euthanizing them.
According to the ASPCA, eight to 12 million animals enter shelters every year. Out of those, 60 percent of dogs and 70 percent of cats must be euthanized. That's nearly three in four animals killed.
Consider all this food for thought. Your furry friends will thank you for it.
— JENNIFER WILSON
